Gay rights, New Democrats, and New Labour

[IndianaGreen]

Tony Blair's New Labour rose at about the same time that Bill Clinton's New Democrats came to dominate the Democratic Party. Both groups advocate disregarding traditional liberal positions in order to win elections.

This is why Tony Blair and his New Labour supported the invasion of Iraq in the same way Al From and Bruce Reed of the DLC did the same in the US. The same similarities can be seen in the tepid defense both groups have given to full equality to GLBT persons.

In a nutshell, progressives in America find themselves in the same quandary the Labour backbenchers find themselves: dump Blair and risk a Tory victory, or keep Blair and continue the Torization of Labour.

Here is an article from the UK that takes aim at New Labour on the issue of gay marriage.

New Labour – same old story

New Labour in power

MANY PEOPLE expected New Labour to blaze a trail to redress the balance of government action in favour of working-class people and to counter the years of bigotry and reactionary ideology from the Tory era.

Certainly their acceptance of openly gay MPs and ministers represents a major change in government attitude but what matters more is their policy towards the rest of the gay population.

Instead of prosecuting their expressed intention to "end unfair discrimination" they have equivocated and delayed, at times even defending anti-gay policies.

http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/liberation/l2frame.htm?Labour.html

[papau]

1. I thought when I saw the post that DLC was the topic - not UK Labor :-)

[no name no slogan]

2. "New Democrats" == "Old Rockefeller Republicans" (nt)

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

3. Let's all help the right by dividing our vote so gays can have no rights

My choice for Kerry is that he DOES NOT ADVOCATE anything that goes against the equal protection laws..he therefore feels the courts will be forced, as they were with the Texas Sodomy laws to strike laws that specifically discriminate against gays.

Edwards on the other hand MADE NO mention of equal protection laws the other night in the debate.

Kucinich is noteworthy in this regard, however used his vote when it counted TO FUCKING VOTE FOR DOMA.

Dean favors civil unions not marriage.

Ralph sums the category up as gonadal politics when asked about women's reproductive rights although I have seen no recent statements on gay marriage,

Sharpton of course gave the best answer of all.

Back whn I came out, in spite of the HUGE gay population in my state, cops would walk into gay bars and arrest people on charges of LEWD conduct simply for dancing.

A few short years ago, California PASSED prop 22 defining marriage as a man and a woman.

Polls show more sympathy and support for civil unions, but are not coming along in the matter of marriage.

As LONG as I am NOT actively HARMED more which is the REAL POTENTIAL of all this derisiveness, I am OK getting the progress a piece at a time...going the RIGHT direction uis FAR MORE IMPORTANT to me than GOING BACKWARDS.

[DaveSZ]

4. Again I stress:

If Bush packs the courts with rightwing Falwellites, gays won't have any rights whatsoever.

[IndianaGreen]

5. But even Clinton nominated Federalist Society members to the courts

What's the difference between an arch conservative and another non-liberal judge that belongs to the Federalist Society? None!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

6. So how has Breyer voted when it counted on extending rights?

Texas?

Why all the 5-4 decisions with Breyer on the 4 SIDE?

It's very entertaining watching you trip all over your tongue with the most liberal Democrat to presumably get the nomination in 16 years.

[IndianaGreen]

7. Kerry is not a liberal, he is a corporatist

Kerry was, or pretended to be a liberal 30 years ago.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

8. Corporatist is a glittering generality which makes the person using the

term a propagandist.

[IndianaGreen]

9. Kerry will not pull out of NAFTA or WTO

Kerry is therefore a corporatist that only pays lip service to the plight of American workers.

Replacing Bush with Kerry is mostly a personnel change with no substantive policy changes except at the margins.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

15. What a total piece of bullshit propaganda

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

10. Did he really?

Kucinich is noteworthy in this regard, however used his vote when it counted TO FUCKING VOTE FOR DOMA.

uh-oh

Thanks for that bit of info.

[IndianaGreen]

11. DOMA passed the House 342-67, and Clinton signed the bill

Cynthia McKinney voted against DOMA, Dick Gephardt voted for it!

Anti-Marriage Bill in Congress Passes House, Would Exclude Gay Spouses from Immigration
Grass Roots Campaign Defeats Anti-Marriage Backlash in 13 States
Trial in Hawaii Case Set For September

Many gays and lesbians were outraged and disappointed to find that some allies of the gay and lesbian community caved into pressure and voted for DOMA. These included David Bonior (D-MI), Connie Morella (D-MD), Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Steve Horn (R-CA), Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Nita Lowey (D-NY). Some congressional offices reported phone calls from angry constituents after the vote tally was announced. Trying to duck for cover and achieve what most gays and lesbians saw as a meaningless compromise, many of these "pro-gay" members voted first for an amendment offered by Barney Frank (D-MA) to gut the bill of its provision to redefine marriage for federal law. As predicted, the amendment failed by a wide margin and most of the legislators who had supported the amendment then voted for the final bill. Still on Monday morning, some legislative aides tried to put a positive spin on the vote, saying that the legislation "would have passed anyway" and that "at least" they supported the Frank amendment. Liberals Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) and Major Owens (D-NY) abstained by voting "present."

http://www.lgirtf.org/newsletters/Summer96/SU1.html

[David Zephyr]

12. Cynthia McKinney. Done in By Her Own Party.

How disgraceful was that?

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

13. I understand Paul Wellstone voted for it too.

...but I am suprised that these Congresscritters did as they are in fairly safe seats (like Bonoir).

I guess, when push-comes-to-shove on gay issues the Democrats cave.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

16. Not really. Kerry didn't vote for it. He called it GAYBASHING

and has indicated civil unions qualify for equal protection under the US constitution.

[David Zephyr]

14. IndianaGreen and Nothingshocksmeanymore.

Perhaps the two brightest bulbs on the DU landscape...or is that cyberscape.

And two of the most decent people one could ever get to know.